Newsletter February 2011
The Transformer
Inspiration and News from the Center for Transformational Presence
February 2011
Article: Transformational Leadership— Blazing New Trails Toward a World That Works
Video of the Month: Derek Sivers on How To Start a Movement
Transformational Leadership— Blazing New Trails Toward a World That Works
by Alan Seale
 |
|
Photo - Maureen Edwards |
I've been thinking a lot over the past year about what it takes to truly serve a greater good. To actually do it, not just talk about it. We are constantly bombarded with statements about what we must do to "save our world," or "preserve our country," or "protect the environment." Many of those statements come out of strong self-interests, to be sure, but many of them also come out of an authentic desire to make the world better and to ensure that there will be a healthier and more sustainable world for future generations.
When I listen to the arguments for and against, and the theories and proposals for what we must do, I can hear authenticity and integrity in many of them. I recognize that many things must change if we are truly going to have a world that works. Yet, I also recognize that something much more fundamental must shift within our collective consciousness before the theories and proposals actually have any hope of being acted upon. And that fundamental shift is in how we think and how we show up to life every day. This is where transformational leadership and coaching can play a critical role.
Transformation and change are two different processes and occur on different levels of reality. Transformation happens inside at the vibrational level. It happens in our cells, in our thoughts and perceptions, in how we look at the world and who we choose to be in relationship to it. Change, on the other hand, happens on the outside. We change our plans, change our diet, change our strategy, change partners, change personnel. And that change so often comes out of reaction to a problem or simply out of boredom with doing things the same way.
Transformation is born out of shifts in understanding. Those shifts, in turn, lead to changes in how we do things. Changes inspired by transformation are likely to last, at least until further understanding and transformation leads us to the next changes. But changes that come out of reaction to a problem are built on shifting sands. They rarely last, the problems soon manifest again in other forms, and we take no meaningful steps forward.
So what can we do? How can leadership and coaching become transformational? How do we begin blazing new trails toward a world that truly works?
Wayne Dyer says, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” My new book, Create a World That Works (due out May 1st), begins with examining how we look at things through a model called the Four Levels of Engagement. We tend to approach life in one of four ways: as a Drama that we are caught up in; as a Situation that we need to fix; as a chance to actually choose (Choice) who we will be in that situation; or as an Opportunity for creating something new. The approach we take will determine how we look at things. I first introduced this concept in the June 2008 issue of Full-Spectrum Living.
When we are in Drama, we have become swept away by circumstances and have lost clear perspective about ourselves and about what is going on. We ask, “Whose fault is this? Who’s to blame? How could this happen to me?” We have given away our personal power to a circumstance or to another person.
In Situation, we lift above the fray, look at the facts as clearly as we can, and ask, “How do we fix it? How can we keep anyone else from finding out that it happened? How can we just get things back to ‘normal’”? It’s all about making things ok for now. There is no long-term view. It’s just about staying comfortable and not having anything “rock the boat”—maintaining stasis.
Not much learning happens at either of these first two levels, but a lot of energy certainly gets wasted and often a lot of bad feelings are left unresolved. Things may get a little better for a while until the same issue surfaces again in another form and there is another fire to put out. Whether we are in Drama or Situation, we will probably talk a lot about what needs to change, and perhaps even make some changes on the surface level because of what has happened. But more often than not, if changes are made, they usually will be reactionary instead of well-considered responses. No transformation will occur, and little or no thought will be given to the future.
However, here is where transformational leadership and transformational presence coaching can offer a different approach. Transformation begins by asking, “Who do you choose to be here? What has been your relationship to this situation? What do you choose as your relationship to it going forward?”
This brings us to the Choice level of engagement. It is here that transformation begins to unfold. The moment we step into choice, we step out of victimhood and into empowerment. Suddenly there is a possibility of creating a new circumstance, a new relationship, a new way of being, and therefore, new approaches and actions. “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Choice transforms. Transformation creates opportunities.
Which takes us to the fourth level of engagement: Opportunity. As we choose how we will engage with what is going on, we begin vibrating to a new frequency. We make big shifts inside. Those inner shifts then allow us to ask, “What wants to happen here? What is the gift of this situation? What is the message that is trying to get through?” As we listen to the emerging potential and follow what wants to happen, we begin to create new realities instead of just fixing problems at the Situation level. We become creative and inventive and new possibilities emerge that we never imagined before. We begin to see further into the future of what could be—what actually wants to be—and we begin creating a regenerative reality that serves a greater good.
This is the first step towards creating a world that works. Until operating from Choice and Opportunity becomes our default approach as a society, we will continue talking about theories and proposals and all of the things that we need to do. But we won’t do them, because we’ll be caught in the levels of Drama and Situation where we assume we have no power. At those levels there is no view to the future, so there is no sense that there is even another possibility. We’ll keep talking about how terrible things are; how dire the situation will be if the decision-makers don’t do something; how awful the “others” are because they won’t acknowledge what is so obviously happening; and we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done.
In truth, many of today’s visionaries and thought leaders are trying to help us see what does, in fact, really want to happen. But until we as a society shift from living in Drama and Situation to living in Choice and Opportunity, we’ll still be focused on fixing problems for the moment, living in a reactive mind-set. Instead, we must choose to live proactively to create a future that works.
Consider the circumstances of your life. Which level has become your habitual approach? What would happen if your first question in every situation was, “Who do I choose to be here?” followed up quickly with “What’s the opportunity in this moment?” How might your life transform? How might our world transform?
Here at the Center for Transformational Presence, we help people ask those questions and live into the answers. We help leaders and visionaries realize their dreams by helping them develop into the persons who could, in fact, lead others into the realization of those dreams. We provide transformational skills and tools for anyone who wants to make a difference in their world.
In the coming months, we’ll continue this discussion about how to create the optimal conditions for transformation to unfold. In the meantime, who will you be today?
Video of the Month: Derek Sivers on How To Start a Movement
It takes just 3 minutes to watch this delightful video from TED about how movements really start. It will make you smile, and might learn something surprising about how movements actually start!
Generally, we learn about these videos when someone recommends them to us. So here's what we offer to you. If you have one or more favorite video shorts (no more than 20 minutes) that you think our audience would enjoy, whether found on YouTube or someplace else on the web, please send us the links.
If you are on our mailing list and we select one of your recommendations as our Video of the Month, you will receive a $100 gift certificate to use on any teleclass program or a coaching session with Alan. When more than one person recommends the same video, gift certificates will be given to the first three that we receive.
We hope you enjoy this Video of the Month! If you're not on our mailing list, sign up to our newsletter so you can recommend your favorite videos and have an opportunity to receive a $100 gift certificate.
Transformational Presence Quote
Announcement
EN*THEOS ACADEMY ECOURSES:
Join Us
|
|
|
Transformational Leadership Video
Affiliations
 |
 |
 |
 |
